One of the things that have been reinforced during the Trump-Biden Ukrainian affair is that there is no president in my lifetime who is clean. By clean I mean devoid of things like scandals, terrible legislation, and foreign entanglements. I was born during the Kennedy presidency, so I have been alive for Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and now Trump. Arguably, the president who was the cleanest of all was Gerald Ford, but that is because Ford served a truncated term due to the resignation of Richard Nixon. Here are some of the scandals and foreign interference entanglements for each President since Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy
The Bay of Pigs incident. Lead by the CIA, this was Kennedy's attempt to destabilize Castro and dislodge the Soviet presence in the Caribbean. If failed miserably.
The Vietnam War. Kennedy began United States involvement in Vietnam to prop up the democratic government in Saigon and stop communist expansionism.
Lyndon B. Johnson
The Great Society. While not a scandal per se, LBJ's Great Society was the largest welfare program in United States history. It eclipsed Franklin Roosevelt's actions during the Great Depression. The Great Society ushered in the welfare state and generation poverty.
Escalation of the Vietnam War. Johnson grew United States troop strength in Vietnam to over 500,000 by the end of his second term.
Richard Nixon
Nixon is known for the Watergate scandal, but he also continued to keep large numbers of United States troops in Vietnam until it became obvious the war was losing proposition.
Gerald Ford
Pardon of former President Richard Nixon. Ford received heavy criticism for pardoning Nixon.
Jimmy Carter
Iran Hostage Crisis. Carter bungled the Iran hostage crisis by allowing it to continue without resolution for 444 days.
Failed Iran Hostage Rescue. Improperly fitted helicopters and poor execution lead to a disaster in trying to rescue the American hostages in Tehran.
Ronald Reagan
Iran-Contra. The United States government secretly sold weapons to Iran and diverted the proceeds from those sales to fund the Contras (rebels) in Nicaragua.
George H. Bush
The Gulf War. After Iraq invaded Kuwait, Bush assembled a coalition of nations to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait and defend Saudi Arabia. The main criticism Bush faced was that the Gulf War was really about money and oil.
Bill Clinton
Monica Lewinsky and Impeachment. Clinton had sex with a White House aid and then lied about it. As a result, he was impeached, although he was acquited by the Senate.
The Balkans. Clinton involved the United States militarily in the conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro.
George W. Bush
The War of Terror. Critics say that taking out Saddam Hussein created a void in Iraq and helped make it a hotbed for terrorists. Incomplete intelligence about Weapons of Mass Destruction created a condition that did not exist and lead to the escalation of the war in Iraq.
Scooter Libby scandal. The former Chief of Staff of Vice President Dick Cheney leaked classified information about CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Wall St. Bailout. As was the case with LBJ, Bush blew up the federal deficit by signing a $700 billion bailout of the credit markets. Barack Obama would go further than Bush but it was Bush who started it.
Barack Obama
Benghazi. The terrorist attacks on the United States embassy in Benghazi and the failure to deploy readiness teams to protect the life of the ambassador was a major failure of the Obama presidency. Secretary of State, and future presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was also culpable.
IRS Targeting of Conservatives. This occurred under Obama's watch.
ObamaCare. This was a policy initiative that placed the Federal government in charge of healthcare by mandating that individuals either have approved healthcare or pay a fine.
Donald Trump
Russian election interference. Although no proof has been found to link Trump to Russian election interference, that matter still dogs his presidency.
Declaring an emergency in order to divert funds for building the Wall. This "scandal" is flying under the radar but opponents of Trump consider this unconstitutional and grounds for impeachment.
Ukranian Controversy. This latest controversy has galvanized House democrats to hold impeachment hearings on Trump. Trump is accused of strongarming the Ukranian government to launch an investigation into former Vice President, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. This controversy is ongoing.
Please understand that I am not making a judgment call on all of these scandals, controversies, or foreign interventions. I do have definite opinions but they are irrelevant. My point is that there has not been one president in my lifetime that is not without controversy. Some of controversies are due to poor legislation. Others are genuine scandals. The things I listed about each president were not meant to be exhaustive. There are many more things I could have posted but I cherry-picked the most well-known incidents.
So, what is my point? If we are waiting for a president who is as morally pure as the wind-driven snow, we will have a long wait ahead of us. If we are waiting for a president who will be without scandal or controversy during his term(s), well, get used to disappointment. Human government, unfortunately, is made up of human beings. Flawed and sinful human beings. We, as voters, are just as flawed and sinful. We should keep that in mind when we consider future candidates and how we will cast our vote. This is a change for me because I have always voted for the ideal. I failed to realize that the ideal candidate does not exist and never will.
John F. Kennedy
The Bay of Pigs incident. Lead by the CIA, this was Kennedy's attempt to destabilize Castro and dislodge the Soviet presence in the Caribbean. If failed miserably.
The Vietnam War. Kennedy began United States involvement in Vietnam to prop up the democratic government in Saigon and stop communist expansionism.
Lyndon B. Johnson
The Great Society. While not a scandal per se, LBJ's Great Society was the largest welfare program in United States history. It eclipsed Franklin Roosevelt's actions during the Great Depression. The Great Society ushered in the welfare state and generation poverty.
Escalation of the Vietnam War. Johnson grew United States troop strength in Vietnam to over 500,000 by the end of his second term.
Richard Nixon
Nixon is known for the Watergate scandal, but he also continued to keep large numbers of United States troops in Vietnam until it became obvious the war was losing proposition.
Gerald Ford
Pardon of former President Richard Nixon. Ford received heavy criticism for pardoning Nixon.
Jimmy Carter
Iran Hostage Crisis. Carter bungled the Iran hostage crisis by allowing it to continue without resolution for 444 days.
Failed Iran Hostage Rescue. Improperly fitted helicopters and poor execution lead to a disaster in trying to rescue the American hostages in Tehran.
Ronald Reagan
Iran-Contra. The United States government secretly sold weapons to Iran and diverted the proceeds from those sales to fund the Contras (rebels) in Nicaragua.
George H. Bush
The Gulf War. After Iraq invaded Kuwait, Bush assembled a coalition of nations to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait and defend Saudi Arabia. The main criticism Bush faced was that the Gulf War was really about money and oil.
Bill Clinton
Monica Lewinsky and Impeachment. Clinton had sex with a White House aid and then lied about it. As a result, he was impeached, although he was acquited by the Senate.
The Balkans. Clinton involved the United States militarily in the conflicts in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, and Montenegro.
George W. Bush
The War of Terror. Critics say that taking out Saddam Hussein created a void in Iraq and helped make it a hotbed for terrorists. Incomplete intelligence about Weapons of Mass Destruction created a condition that did not exist and lead to the escalation of the war in Iraq.
Scooter Libby scandal. The former Chief of Staff of Vice President Dick Cheney leaked classified information about CIA agent Valerie Plame.
Wall St. Bailout. As was the case with LBJ, Bush blew up the federal deficit by signing a $700 billion bailout of the credit markets. Barack Obama would go further than Bush but it was Bush who started it.
Barack Obama
Benghazi. The terrorist attacks on the United States embassy in Benghazi and the failure to deploy readiness teams to protect the life of the ambassador was a major failure of the Obama presidency. Secretary of State, and future presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton was also culpable.
IRS Targeting of Conservatives. This occurred under Obama's watch.
ObamaCare. This was a policy initiative that placed the Federal government in charge of healthcare by mandating that individuals either have approved healthcare or pay a fine.
Donald Trump
Russian election interference. Although no proof has been found to link Trump to Russian election interference, that matter still dogs his presidency.
Declaring an emergency in order to divert funds for building the Wall. This "scandal" is flying under the radar but opponents of Trump consider this unconstitutional and grounds for impeachment.
Ukranian Controversy. This latest controversy has galvanized House democrats to hold impeachment hearings on Trump. Trump is accused of strongarming the Ukranian government to launch an investigation into former Vice President, Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. This controversy is ongoing.
Please understand that I am not making a judgment call on all of these scandals, controversies, or foreign interventions. I do have definite opinions but they are irrelevant. My point is that there has not been one president in my lifetime that is not without controversy. Some of controversies are due to poor legislation. Others are genuine scandals. The things I listed about each president were not meant to be exhaustive. There are many more things I could have posted but I cherry-picked the most well-known incidents.
So, what is my point? If we are waiting for a president who is as morally pure as the wind-driven snow, we will have a long wait ahead of us. If we are waiting for a president who will be without scandal or controversy during his term(s), well, get used to disappointment. Human government, unfortunately, is made up of human beings. Flawed and sinful human beings. We, as voters, are just as flawed and sinful. We should keep that in mind when we consider future candidates and how we will cast our vote. This is a change for me because I have always voted for the ideal. I failed to realize that the ideal candidate does not exist and never will.
